Chapter 170
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 171
Chapter Title: The Racial Martial Tournament
A nation composed solely of humans.
Pendem.
The capital of Pendem was bustling with crowds.
It was all because of the martial tournament hosted by Pendem.
"Who do you think will win this time?"
"That's why it's exciting—we don't know!"
"Maybe another rookie will show up this year!"
Humans had developed various cultures.
But among them, the one they enjoyed most was watching fights.
They had even built arenas and cultivated a unique gladiator culture.
They always took pleasure in spectating battles and cheering on the fighters.
Because of that, they were always curious.
Among the countless races living in this world, who was the strongest?
Though there was a racial ranking system,
even among humans, monsters like Dragon Slayers occasionally emerged, transcending racial boundaries.
Humans had such vast individual differences,
but this phenomenon appeared across other races as well.
Thus, humans were gripped by their innate curiosity.
Who truly was the strongest race?
And this curiosity caught the eye of a wealthy tycoon.
He smelled money in it.
He immediately recruited the arena owner and made a proposal.
"How about we make a killing together under the slogan of determining the strongest race?"
The arena owner's ears perked up at the words.
Where there were crowds, there was money.
Sensing the profit, he eagerly accepted the business deal.
Thus, the human-hosted martial tournament was born.
Most races scoffed at the event, dismissing it as human gossip fodder.
But some were intrigued by the prizes and prestige.
As a result, various races flocked to the tournament pretending otherwise,
and fueled by their competitive spirits, they fought fiercely. The first tournament concluded with great success.
The triumph spread like wildfire among the races.
From the stigma of their race ranking lower than others,
to tales of heroes transcending racial limits.
It was no wonder other races went wild with excitement.
In the end, the Racial Martial Tournament became a regular event held every four years.
And this year marked its sixth iteration.
Last year's winner was from the sixth-ranked beastkin race:
Kingdaska, from the werewolf tribe.
With his absurd skills, Kingdaska had even crushed a participant from the fifth-ranked elves.
The other races, thoroughly defeated by him, had sharpened their blades for this tournament.
Thanks to that, the event's hype had skyrocketed beyond previous years.
"I hear even a dragon might enter this time?"
"No way—if so, won't it just be a dragon-led massacre?"
"Heh, who knows? Maybe a Dragon Slayer will show up to take it down."
The citizens chattered all day about the upcoming tournament.
And so, the eagerly awaited registration day arrived.
Countless warriors formed a sea of people to sign up,
and among them were droves of other races.
"Oh, beastkin. They're entering again! Wonder if someone can follow in Kingdaska's footsteps."
"Whoa, what's that? That beauty—is she an elf?"
"Idiot! Watch your mouth. That's a vampire. A pureblood noble, no doubt."
People buzzed at the sight of rare races they seldom saw.
The tournament's prestige had grown so much that high-ranking members from various races were entering in droves.
And above all, the most spotlighted race this time was the elves.
Fifth in the racial rankings.
Though there was an overwhelming gap to the third-ranked dragons,
they were a race that others looked up to.
With innate spirit arts, nature magic, and elven archery,
their combat prowess surpassed other races.
Among such elves, a noble high elf had entered this tournament.
It was to wash away the disgrace of an elf losing to a lower beastkin.
The elf defeated by Kingdaska was quite renowned among them.
Naturally, the elves were furious at the news of his defeat.
As a result, a high elf had stepped up to cleanse their name.
Click-clack—.
At that moment,
a single heel strike echoed through the noisy crowd.
It was a sound that unconsciously captivated the ears.
Gazes naturally turned that way.
In that instant, people froze, swallowing hard.
The reason was simple.
There stood someone with beauty so exquisite it defied human perception.
Long, white ears protruded from emerald hair.
And her appearance was so jewel-like it made one forget even those ears.
Such a being was walking among them.
The moment she appeared, people instinctively stepped back, clearing a path.
Not just her looks, but the subtle aura emanating from her body
forced them to retreat.
High Elf
Prion La Yggdrasil
He was the eldest son of the elven knight captain.
His appearance convinced everyone:
This man would win the tournament.
"Lord Prion, is there really any reason for you to enter such a lowly, barbaric event?"
At that moment, his attendant spoke quietly beside him.
Prion glanced at him upon hearing the voice.
"Hasn't the elven name been sullied? I would go anywhere to restore our honor."
"If it's just that, couldn't I go in your stead, Lord Prion?"
"It's always better to be certain.
Besides, I'm personally curious about that werewolf Kingdaska."
Prion flashed a subtle smile laced with competitive fire.
And for good reason: the one defeated by Kingdaska in the last tournament was none other than Prion's archery master from his youth.
Though age was a factor,
for a renowned archer to fall to a beastkin—it was unacceptable.
As his disciple, shouldn't he avenge his master?
In the end, the attendant bowed, unable to dissuade him.
Prion was the type who followed through once he set his mind to something.
He had given up trying to stop him.
"I hope Kingdaska enters this tournament too."
Prion scanned the surroundings with intrigued eyes.
Then,
his body suddenly froze mid-glance.
He was staring fixedly at one spot.
"Lord Prion?"
His trailing attendant called out puzzledly.
But Prion remained rooted, unresponsive.
"Pri…"
"Quiet."
As the attendant tried again,
Prion snapped at him with a warning tone.
Cold sweat beaded on Prion's forehead.
A woman stood there.
Just that alone, and the moment Prion laid eyes on her, terror engulfed him from toes to crown.
Only one existence could evoke such dread.
'Dragon.'
A dragon alone.
His instincts, honed from past encounters, screamed that the woman was undoubtedly a dragon.
'...Why the hell is a dragon here?'
He calmed his pounding heart, questions swirling.
A mere human tournament.
Other races might join, but dragons had always ignored it.
For one to appear now was completely unforeseen.
'Just for fun?'
It might be mere amusement for a dragon,
but for Prion, it was a disaster among disasters.
No matter the rare Dragon Slayers that popped up,
they were usually flukes of stacked coincidences.
Dragons were absolute beings.
'A misstep.'
With the dragon possibly revealing her true nature,
if she didn't, a high elf would lose to a human.
'No, not yet. She might not enter. Could just be spectating.'
Of course, the dragon that had Prion so worried was none other than Elasia,
now possessed by a dragon.
She had come to the human nation of Pendem with Havel and the goblins.
By sheer coincidence, she caught Prion's eye,
tormenting the head of the top contender.
"Lord Havel, stop wandering off alone! You're so small, I can barely spot you!"
She was actually struggling to keep up with the leading Havel.
"Tracking magic exists, you fool."
Havel, walking with her, responded indifferently.
"The goblins?"
"They're squeezing through the crowd to register."
She viewed the goblins with slight admiration.
They were in charge of gathering elixirs anyway,
and Joah's magic had been taught by her directly.
"They're practically indistinguishable from humans now."
As she said, the goblins now nearly matched average human height.
Muscles and build aside from skin tone and ears—they were nearly identical.
So as they passed, people tilted their heads in confusion,
unable to identify their race.
"They're growing."
The goblins' gluttony proved more useful than expected.
Their explosive growth owed much to it.
"Anyway, Elasia."
"Y-yes?"
"Enter the tournament too."
"Pardon?"
Elasia jumped at his next words.
Havel eyed her with displeasure.
"I know you've been neglecting your training lately while focusing on the goblins."
"Ah, uh, um."
"Enter."
"...Yes, sir."
Elasia ultimately obeyed Havel.
"But Lord Havel, with my current magic, won't I just win everything?"
She subtly pointed out the match's unfairness.
"Hold back to your original level."
"Huh? H-how?!"
"Figure it out."
With that, Havel walked off.
A dragon entering the tournament.
It was a thunderbolt for High Elf Prion and the other races alike.